General Information

Premise

Wrapping up the Holy War story that began last month, the X-Men face
off against the Church of Humanity.

High Point

“You mean Kurt.”

Low Point

Colouring errors get in the way again, but the idea that so many
mutants close to the X-Men could have been discreetly captured just
doesn’t wash with me.

The Scores

It’s hard to stay original when there are 423 issues of a
title to follow, not counting spinoffs. (Yeah, close to 30 of those
were reprints, but it’s still a big number.) So, while this didn’t
feel terribly original, it’s hard to do so on this title. I give it 3
out of 6.

The artwork has colouring errors once again. The trio of
inkers seem to be taking turns, with some pages very dark and others
done in greys rather than blacks. I think I’d prefer to have seen
this art just after the pencilling stage. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story is mostly combat, with some scenes that don’t work
for me. Jubliee, Skin, and Magma probably couldn’t disappear without
one of the X-Men noticing, for one thing. Jean shouldn’t need to be
told to telekinetically lift the injured to a more secure location,
either. It’s just not well crafted. It doesn’t give me hope for the
first issue of The Eternal by the same writer next week. I
give it 3 out of 6.

The characterization is a bit limited. With this much
combat, we don’t get to see what the characters are really like. The
villains are described well enough to see their motivations, but we
know nothing else about them. I give it 3 out of 6.

The emotional response produced was rarely that desired by
Chuck Austen. Much of it was blase dissappointment. It shouldn’t
take a lot to make me concerned for these characters; I’d already
become attached to them when I read 100+ other issues about them. I
give it 2 out of 6.

The flow was interrupted only by colouring Jean’s hair green
in one panel, making me stop to figure out how Lorna got there so
quickly from where she was. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s not a particularly impressive issue. I give it
only 3 out of 6.